A Dinner Bell is Ringing

Mini Cheesecakes

2011-10-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

This recipe is very simple and makes 12 very light mini

cheesecakes. I prefer them without a crust but I have

included the ingredients for that also.

They can be eaten plain or with a fruit

topping.

Recipe: Two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

fruit jam

Crust: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs mixed with

3 TB melted butter, pressed into bottom of paper liner.

First, soften the cream cheese. Next, with a hand held mixer,

mix in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Use a 1/3 measuring cup to fill paper lined muffin tin.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

After letting cool for about ten minutes, carefully lift each

one out of muffin tin and let cool on a rack.

I use a strawberry jam topping that I warm in the

microwave oven until it is smooth enough to spoon

on top of each cheesecake. A slice of strawberry on top

would be perfect.

Place them into a refrigerator after letting cool about 30 min.

Penne with Tomato and Cheese Sauce

2011-09-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

I was all ready to make lasagna and discovered I didn't have

lasagna noodles or ricotta cheese.

So I thought I would use penne pasta and a cream sauce instead.

It worked out pretty well.

Recipe: 3/4 pound of penne pasta

1/2 pound of ground beef

14 oz. of pasta sauce

home made cream sauce

1/2 cup of mozzarella

salt and pepper

Cook the pasta and spread a layer in a 12 by 12 inch dish.

Cook the ground beef and add the sauce .

(Reserve about 1/8 cup of sauce)

Layer on top of the pasta.

Put another layer of pasta on top.

(A little more than what is pictured above.)

Make a roux with 3 TB. of butter, 3 TB of flour and

1 and 1/2 cups milk

Cook for 3 minutes on medium low heat and then add cheese.

Spread cheese sauce on top of the second layer of pasta.

Put a third layer of pasta on top of that.

Put a little left over pasta sauce on top.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for about 30 minutes.

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Vegtables

2011-09-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Recipe: 4 oz. spaghetti

1 tomato (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

2 zucchini (chopped)

10 cooked shrimp

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Chop vegtables into small cubes and mix with 1 tablespoon

olive oil and dried basil. Spread on a parchment lined baking

sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for about

12 minutes.

Warm the tomato sauce and stir it together with the cooked

shrimp, spaghetti, and vegtables, in a large bowl.

Zucchini Boats

2011-09-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Zucchini Boats can be used as a main course but I think

I would rather use them as a side dish or appetizer. Lots

of different ingredients can be used. My recipe was based

on what I happened to have in the kitchen today.

Recipe: Four zucchini

1/2 cup cooked ground beef

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup pasta sauce

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

Salt and pepper

Shredded cheese

Slice zucchini in half and chop off the stem.

Score the zucchini to make it easier to scoop out pulp.

Use a spoon to hollow out the zucchini to 1/4 inch thickness.

I cooked the tomato, green pepper and zucchini pulp in a

pan with olive oil, for a few minutes. Then mixed all the

ingredients in a bowl. The recipe can easily be changed

to suit your taste. Meat is optional.

Arrange boats in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees

for 30 minutes. Top with your favorite cheese and let it

melt on top for a minute, in the oven.

You can pick them up like a hot dog and eat.

Crepes

2011-08-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

I love to make crepes. They can be for breakfast, dinner, or

dessert. This time I decided to fill them with ham and

broccoli with a white sauce.

Recipe for crepes:

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 cups milk

1 TB oil

1 cup flour (sifted)

1/4 tsp. salt

Wisk the ingredients into a very thin batter.

Put a small amount of oil on a pan at a medium temp.

Pour a small amount of batter onto pan and swirl it

around until it covers the bottom of a pan.

The idea is to make the crepe thin and delicate.

When the crepe appears to solidify you can turn it.

Very carefully flip over with spatula.

This is how it should appear when done.

I placed shaved ham and broccoli on this crepe and

then rolled it up. I poured a white sauce on top.

Crepes can be filled with lots of different things, depending

on what you like. I have also use scrambled eggs and ham,

for breakfast and warmed fruit for dessert.

Recipe for white sauce:

2TB Butter

2TB flour

1 and 1/2 cups milk

a dash of nutmeg

Directions:

Wisk melted Butter and flour together and cook at a medium low

heat for about 3 minutes. Then add the milk and cook at medium

until it thickens. Add nutmeg when sauce is finished.

Angel Bisquits

2011-08-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Angel Biscuits are very light and delicious.

Recipe:

1 pkg. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 and 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 TB. sugar or honey

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup milk (room temperature)

First, you must put the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water.
The water temperature should be about 110 degrees.
Let the yeast activate. In five minutes it should look like
the above picture when it is ready.

Combine the dry ingredients and shortening with a pastry blender

Add the milk and the yeast to the dough and stir with

a spoon until it holds together. Knead slightly on a floured

board. Roll dough out. The dough is very sticky so keep

enough flour on the surface and your hands.

Cut round shapes with a glass or biscuit cutter,

about 1/2 inch thick. They do not need to rise.

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Serve with butter and jam. Makes about 14.

Home Fries

2011-08-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Home fries do not necessarily have to be a side dish

with eggs and bacon. They are delicious on their own too.

Recipe: 4 russet potatoes

(Chopped into 1 inch cubes)

Your favorite shredded cheese

2 TB. olive oil

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

A sprinkling of steak seasoning

Directions: Mix the oil and seasonings in a bowl.

Then toss in potatoes until well coated.

Spread on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Flip potatoes over about 18 minutes into cooking.

Sprinkle cheese on top right before they are finished.

Banana Bread

2011-08-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

I love bananas and when a few get to ripe to

eat on there own, it's a good opportunity to

make some bread.

Recipe:

3 large, ripe bananas

1/3 cup melted butter

2TB. milk

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Mash bananas with a fork.

Mix with butter, milk, egg, and sugar.

Mix last four ingredients in separate bowl and

then combine with wet ingredients.

Pour batter into one, greased loaf pan.

Baked at 350 degree for about 50 minutes.

Do not take out of oven to early. In order for the

loaf to be thoroughly cooked, it will appear

quite dark.

Banana Meringue Pie

2011-07-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Most people have heard of banana cream pie but I

have always enjoyed a meringue topped pie instead.

Instead of milk for the filling, I use water, eggs and cornstarch.

Pie crust ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1/3 cup shortening or cold butter

5 TB. cold water

I roll my pie crust between two sheets of plastic wrap

Here is a new way, I have found, to keep crust from

bubbling up during baking. Pierce crust, with fork

about 6 times, then place another pie dish on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Pie filling;

3 TB. flour

3 TB. cornstarch

1 cup of sugar
1 and 1/2 cups water

Stir ingredients on medium high heat until it boils.

Take about 1/4 cup of mixture and put into bowl with

3 whisked egg yolks. Stir quickly and put back

into pot and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.

Stir constantly. Take off heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla,

2 TB butter, and 4 sliced bananas.

Put mixture into baked pie crust.

Meringue recipe:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until frothy

then slowly add sugar until stiff peaks appear.

Stir in vanilla and spoon onto pie.

Put pie in oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and pie is light brown.

Ham and Broccoli Casserole

2011-07-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: 1 cup pasta rigate

3/4 cup shaped, chopped ham

1 cup cooked brocoli

White sauce:

2 TB butter

2 TB flour

1 and 1/2 cups milk

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Salt, pepper, and 1tsp. onion powder

Combine cooked pasta, broccoli, and ham

Melted butter to start a roux

Add 2 TB of flour to the melted butter and cook on

medium heat for two minutes, stirring with wisk

Add milk slowly to roux and cook until thick, about

eight minutes, then add cheese. Season when finished.

Pour sauce into bowl with other ingredients

Put mixture into baking pan and cook at 350 degrees

for about 25 minutes.

Serves four

Bean and Vegetable Soup

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Recipe: Two stalks of celery

Two, large, peeled carrots

Two red potatoes, cubed

One can of tomato sauce

One can of garbanzo beans

One can of dark red navy beans

One tsp. basil

One tsp. onion powder

Two Tb. cornstarch

salt and pepper

Directions : Chop vegetables and place in a

pot filled with two cups of boiling

water. Turn down to medium

and cook until tender.

Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water to dissolve.

              Put cornstarch, tomato sauce, and beans into pot.
              Bring to boil and then take off the heat. Add
              spices and let cool in bowls for about 15 min.

Eggplant Mozzarella Bake

2011-07-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Recipe: 1 Eggplant, peeled, sliced and sweated

3 eggs, wisked

Mixture of flour, breadcrumbs, onion powder, salt

and itlalian seasoning

Favorite pasta sauce

Favorite shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1.Salt the peeled slices of eggplant and let stand on

paper towels at least a half hour.

2. Rinse eggplant and pat dry with paper towels.

3. Place slices in wisked eggs and dip in

flour/breadcrumbs mixture.

4. Fry slices at about medium high heat until

golden brown.

5. Layer the baking dish with pasta sauce,

eggplant slices, mozzerella, and repeat.

6. Bake at 375, in a 7 by 8 dish,for about

15 to 20 minutes.

Sliced eggplant, whisked eggs, flour & breadcrumbs

Layer your favorite pasta sauce in dish

Fried eggplant

Serves four

Apple Pie

2011-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today, I have baked some delicious, miniature pies.

Five inch pie tins are a great way to create individual

servings for dessert.

I roll out my pie crust in-between two pieces of saran wrap.

Recipe for pie crust: 1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup shortening or butter

1/4 cup ice water

Recipe for filling: 3 cups granny smith apples

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbs tapioca

Brush pies with mixture of 1 egg and 1 tsp water and bake at 375

for 40 minutes.